The field of the present invention is related to the sampling of cells and tissue and treatment of tissue, and more specifically to the sampling and treatment of an organ such as the prostate.
Prior methods and apparatus of treating subjects such as patients can result in less than ideal results in at least some instances. For example, prior methods of prostate surgery can result in longer healing time and less than ideal outcomes in at least some instances.
Although early diagnosis and treatment of cancer can provide improved outcomes, the prior methods and apparatus of diagnosing and treating cancer can be less than ideal. In at least some instances, patients having benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) may also have prostate cancer (PCa), which may not be diagnosed as quickly as would be ideal. Also, the prior methods and apparatus for treating cancer may be less than ideally suited for combination with other treatments, for example.
Many organs such as the prostate comprise an outer wall or capsule, which comprises sensitive nerves or blood vessels. Damage to the nerves or vessels can lead to decreased functioning of the organ, and the prior methods and apparatus can provide less than ideal removal of tissue near capsules and walls of organs. For example, damage to nerves of the prostate capsule may lead to decreased potency, and damage to the optic nerve or vessels of the eye can lead to decreased vision in at least some instances.
Also, the prior methods and apparatus for sampling of tissue to collect cells may result in less ideal results in at least some instances. It would be desirable to provide a means for removing intact cells from a patient, so that the cells may be used for diagnostic or other applications. For example, stem cells are known to play an important role in many cancers and may be suitable test targets for the diagnosis of the cancers. Prostate stem cells, for example, have been implicated in the development of prostate disease states, including BPH and prostate cancer. In addition, the cell lines generated from the sampled tissue may have valuable uses in cancer research and therapies such as cell-based therapies.
In light of the above, it would be helpful to provide improved methods and apparatus for surgery and diagnosing and treating cancer. Ideally such methods would provide improved treatment of delicate tissue structures such as nerves and vessels of the organ, and determine the presence or absence of cancer and provide improved treatments with improved outcomes.